Package tie



Nov. 21, 1967 v F. KISH ETAL I 3,353,228

PACKAGE TIE Filed April 29, 1966 INVENTOR A ORNEY United States Patent O M ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A package tie having a binding cord anchored to a rigid panel which also carries a resilient post with an enlarged button spaced from the panel by a distance lesser than the thickness of the cord, so that when the cord is wound around the post, the post is resiliently stretched to frictionally grip the cord between the button and the panel.

'This invention relates to a tie for securing together a bundle of letters or similar fiat relatively small and light objects, and has particular application to mail sorting, where a bundle of letters, after having been sorted for delivery, are required to be retained together by means of a tie device which can be conveniently applied and equally conveniently unfastened.

Conventionally, either cords or elastic bands are used for this purpose, which former have the obvious inconvenience of requiring their ends to be manually tied together, and in the case `of the latter, are limited in the size of the bundle which they may encompass.

Devices similar to the device of this invention have heretofore been proposed, wherein a rigid panel member is provided with a cord secured thereto, and a button tixedly secured to said rigid panel member, adapted to receive one or more turns of the cord around the button. Such devices have suffered from the disadvantage of lacking a -biasing means, whereby the cord is resiliently secured between the button and the panel member.

In broad aspect, the present invention comprises a tie, consisting of a panel member, a cord iixedly secured to said panel member, and a rigid disc or a button resiliently secured to the panel member in such fashion that when the cord is wrapped around a bundle of letters or the like, one or more turns of the cord around the button will result in the cord being resiliently secured between the button and the panel member, thereby effectively securing the bundle of letters together, and yet being c-onveniently disengagable therefrom by simply unwinding the cord from under the button.

Reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describing one embodiment of the invention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the device of FIGURE 1, in use.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicates corresponding parts in the several figures.

The panel member consists of a planar, essentially rigid member of convenient size, desirably rectangular in configuration, as depicted in FIGURES 1 and 2.

3,353,228 Patented Nov. 2l, 1967 Fixedly attached thereto by any convenient means such as the rivet 11 is the securing c-ord 12, which may be of any convenient length of suitable string or twine, preferably of a hard-wrap type.

A rubber post 13, formed With an enlarged head 14, is inserted through an aperture 15 located substantially in the panel member 10. A discoid button 16, constructed of relatively rigid material, is xedly secured to the upstanding end 18 of the post 13 by means of suitable fastening means, such as the screw 17 engaging the post 13.

Desirably, the discoid button 16 is spaced from the panel 10 a distance of not more than one diameter of the cord 12, so that a second turn of the cord about the post will result in the button being biased downwards towards the panel 10, thereby jamming the cord 12 in secured position.

In use, the panel 10 is placed on the upper side of a bundle of letters or the like indicated at 19 in FIGURE 2, and the cord 12 is Wrapped around the bundle, at least once, the free end 4then being turned at least once around the post 13, thereby jamming the cord between the discoid button 16 and the .panel 10, the biasing action of the button against the panel preventing its unwanted disengagement from the button. When access to the bundle is desired, the cord 12 is simply unwound from its securing position under the button and the contents of the bundle are available.

Since various modifications can be made to the invention herein described within the scope of the inventive concept disclosed, it is not intended that protection of the said invention should be interpreted as restricted to the particular modiiications or known parts of such concept as particularly described, defined or exemplified, since this disclosure is inten-ded to explain the construction and operation of such concept and is not for the purpose of limiting protection to any specific embodiment or details thereof.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A package tie comprising in combination, a rigid panel having an aperture formed therein, a binding cord anchored at one end thereof to said panel at a point spaced from said aperture, a binding post of resiliently yieldable material positioned in said aperture and projecting to one side of the panel, said post having an enlarged head in abutment with the `other side of the panel, and a rigid button of a larger diameter than said post secured to the projecting end of the post in spaced relation from said one side of the panel, said button being spaced from said panel by a distance lesser than the thickness of said cord so that when the cord is wound around the post, the post is resiliently stretched to frictionally grip the cord between the panel and the button.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 884,3l6 4/ 1908 Conrard 24--18 1,279,191 9/1918 Werges 24-18 1,503,410 7/1924 Yates 24--18 X 1,959,720 5/1934 Koczi 24-18 2,677,863 5/1954 St. .lohn 2.4-127 JAMES l.. JONES, JR., Primary Examiner. 

